Social Experiences of Breastfeeding

Sally Dowling is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Nursing and Midwifery, UWE, Bristol. She has published on breastfeeding in public, stigma, liminality and long-term breastfeeding. She is Associate Editor for International Breastfeeding Journal.David Pontin is Professor of Community Health, University of South Wales. His current research focuses on family resilience (www.frait.wales) and the implications for health visiting practice.Kate Boyer is a Senior Lecturer in feminist geography in the School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University. She has published on breastfeeding in public, combining lactation with wage work, breastmilk donation and breastfeeding activism.

• Introduction ~ Sally Dowling, David Pontin and Kate BoyerThe UK policy context: reconfiguration of the Unicef UK Baby Friendly Initiative to reflect the importance of relationships and ensuring sustainability ~ Francesca Entwistle and Fiona DykesPart I: Breastfeeding and emotionsManaging the dynamics of shame in breastfeeding support ~ Dawn LeemingBreastfeeding’s emotional intensity: pride, shame and status ~ Lisa Smyth‘Betwixt and between’: women’s experiences of breastfeeding long term ~ Sally DowlingWeaving breastfeeding practices into policy ~ Lucila NewellBreastfeeding and emotions: reflections for policy and practice ~ Sally Johnson and Sally Tedstone Part II: Cultures of breastfeeding‘Missing milk’: an exploration of migrant mothers’ experiences of infant feeding in the UK ~ Louise CondonChanging cultures of night-time breastfeeding and sleep in the US ~ Cecilia TomoriBreastfeeding and modern parenting: when worlds collide ~ Amy BrownParenting ideologies, infant feeding and popular culture ~ Abigail LockeCultures of breastfeeding: reflections for policy and practice ~ Sally Tedstone and Geraldine Lucas Part III: Breastfeeding and popular cultureLaw of lactation breaks in the UK: employers’ perspectives ~ Melanie FraserMaking breastfeeding social: the role of brelfies in breastfeeding’s burgeoning publics ~ Fiona GilesEncountering public art: monumental breasts and the Skywhale ~ Alison BartlettEmbodiment as a gauge of individual, public and planetary health ~ Maia Boswell-PencBreastfeeding and popular culture: reflections for policy and practice ~ Nicki Symes, Elizabeth Mayo, Emma LairdSeries context: reflection on experiences of attending seminar series ~ Sally TedstoneConclusion ~ Sally Dowling, David Pontin and Kate Boyer

"This book does, as proposed, bring together research with discussions of practice and policy. It pulls together science and new ways of thinking that can help us consider how we can use women’s own experiences to improve the sociocultural and political context within which they make infant feeding decisions, engage in breastfeeding practice, and are, themselves, transformed by the experience." Journal of Human Lactation